Rebuild pier

Published 4:19 am, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

According to news reports, the stimulus effect on job creation in Connecticut has fallen short of expectations. I would like to suggest a way for Stamford to help the situation.

Due to a storm approximately five years ago, our once-beautiful fishing pier at Cummings Beach was destroyed.

My husband died last year. However, I have happy memories of our many enjoyable walks at the beach, always ending with a walk out to the end of the pier. It is, therefore, very upsetting to see that the city of Stamford has done nothing to rebuild the structure.

In view of the above, I believe our mayor should request part of the stimulus money allocated to the state of Connecticut to rebuild our Cummings Beach fishing pier. By doing so, Stamford will create jobs, beautify the environment and maintain our beautiful shoreline to the high standard the people of Stamford deserve.

Marion Rabita

Stamford

Thumbs down on editorial

To the editor:

Your editorial of Aug. 26 gives a "Thumbs down" on a report by the University of Connecticut that our state could lose 35,000 jobs over the next year. Your editorial states "It's just the sort of news the state doesn't need to hear right now." Your attitude reminds me of the grasshopper in the Aesop's fable about the optimistic grasshopper and the hardworking ants who prepared for the winter that was to come. The ants survived.

Refusing to face reality does not remove its consequences. Revenue is down sharply. Spending like there is no tomorrow is like not applying the brake hard before hitting the tree. Both our Democratic and Republican budget plans -- the Democratic more so -- call for spending more money than will be there. What fools have and will lend states enough money to cover their optimistically forecast deficits with no end now realistically in sight? (By contrast, Uncle Sam can "print" more money and is doing so).

By not severely belt tightening now, the belt will slip upward and become a noose. Watch California for what will happen elsewhere later.

She answered, and heard the voice of our son on the other end. It was the kind of call no parent wants to receive. Our son -- a new driver -- had been in a car accident near our house while entering the Merritt Parkway. No injuries, thank God, but a very upset young man.

He had left home hearing my mantra of encouragement to be safe, and enjoy the last few weeks of summer with his friends before he returns to school. To anyone who travels our beloved scenic Route 15, I needn't explain its unrivaled beauty or its perils. I drive it every day, feeling lucky to have it, aware of the dangers and blessed to travel it safely.

The lady whose car my son bumped into comforted him while they waited for my wife and me to arrive.

I contacted the state police, who arrived in about 30 minutes. For reasons unknown, the officer's attitude initially seemed hostile toward us. She was confrontational and aggressive, and had we been less poised, the incident might have escalated into an unpleasant situation -- the kind you sometimes read about in the newspapers. We all noticed this. Although I was displeased by the way she spoke to us, and had no insight into the cause of her agitation, I was determined to be polite to her.

Fortunately, in spite of her initial approach, which occasioned the border of sarcasm, by the time the state trooper dismissed us I found her to be pleasant, professional and courteous. For this I am grateful. Thanks to lessons learned from my own parents, I had been empowered to make a conscious decision to do my best to remain calm, follow the officer's instructions, and respond respectfully. Feeling harassed, this can present a challenge, a test of character in potentially inflammatory encounters.

I asked the officer if it would be OK for me to get out of my car and thank the lady for being so kind to my young son, and she said yes. So with official permission, I got out of our car, shook the lady's hand, and thanked her. As she and her dog drove away, I believed in people. I believed in Connecticut. I believed in myself, and I thanked God.

A great, big thanks to the Greenwich Time editorial board for a most timely "Law falls short on animal protection" (Aug. 10). With so many atrocities perpetrated upon animals lately, I sincerely hope that law enforcement and the courts will start taking these cases very seriously.

On July 24, two small puppies fell six feet down into an open drain, apparently left uncovered by an obviously unqualified worker in order to facilitate cleanup of a kennel at the Bridgeport municipal shelter.

Plumbers were called to assess the situation; they had necessary equipment to cut open the floor, rescue the puppies and restore the floor free of charge; their own video footage clearly shows the puppies alive and well, crying desperately. The plumbers pleaded with shelter workers to allow them to start the rescue, which could have been accomplished in no more than an hour; they were threatened with arrest should they attempt the rescue without permission.

By the time the city decided what to do, six hours had passed, and they came up with the horrible solution of instructing the public utilities director to bring in a water truck with 6,000 pounds of water pressure to push the puppies down the drain into the sewer.

This was an extreme act of animal cruelty perpetrated by Bridgeport city workers; all involved should have been fired immediately, arrested and charged; they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Please contact Attorney General Richard Blumenthal at attorney.general@po.state.ct.us on behalf of these puppies, and urge immediate action. Who knows how many more animals may have and will continue to suffer a similar fate at the Bridgeport animal shelter?